Everything you need to know about the 2023 NBA Draft, with projections for UK’s prospects

The 77th edition of the NBA Draft will take place Thursday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in New York City.

The annual event is one of the most significant moments in the NBA offseason, and it’s usually a chance for the Kentucky men’s basketball program to flex its muscle as a proven pathway to the pros.

Kentucky leads all colleges with 57 first-round selections since the draft first occurred in 1947. That’s four more first-round picks than the two schools tied in second place with 53 players taken in the first round: Duke and North Carolina.

That number will grow to 58 for the Wildcats on Thursday, when one-and-done guard Cason Wallace is selected in the first round, likely as an NBA Draft lottery pick (draft selections 1-14).

But what about the other former UK players who are eligible for NBA Draft selection, including former star forward Oscar Tshiebwe?

Here’s everything you need to know about the 2023 NBA Draft, from the likelihood of other former UK players being selected, to who the top draft picks will be and more.

Cason Wallace is UK’s only certain draft pick

Entering NBA Draft week, the only certainty when it comes to Kentucky’s pro prospects is that Cason Wallace will be a first-round NBA Draft selection.

Wallace, a 6-foot-3 guard, averaged 11.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals during his lone season at Kentucky, during which he often played through injury and provided the Cats with mostly consistent play.

He’s viewed as a potential late lottery selection by several of the most recent mock drafts.

According to the updated “Consensus Mock Draft” that is published by the NBA on its website, Wallace is projected to go to the Orlando Magic with the No. 11 overall pick.

But aside from Wallace, the NBA Draft hopes for the other three eligible former UK players — Chris Livingston, Oscar Tshiebwe and Jacob Toppin — is anything but clear.

Livingston’s process in the lead-up to this year’s draft has been shrouded in mystery.

First came his decision at the deadline to remain in the draft: The 6-foot-6 wing from Ohio will end his UK career having played in all 34 games during his lone season, with averages of 6.3 points and 4.2 rebounds.

But despite flashing significant potential and displaying an unselfish style of play, Livingston isn’t a lock to be drafted.

On June 8, NBA insider Shams Charania reported Livingston had canceled all seven of his remaining pre-draft workouts. This has been interpreted as evidence that Livingston received a promise from a team that he will be selected on draft night.

Livingston previously participated in the NBA Draft Combine in May in Chicago.

In the most recent mock drafts from each of ESPN, The Athletic and The Ringer, Livingston is projected as a second-round pick.

ESPN has him going 53rd overall to Minnesota. The Athletic has him going 46th overall to Atlanta. The Ringer has him going 43rd overall to Portland.

The projections are less optimistic for former UK star Oscar Tshiebwe.

Tshiebwe’s stay-or-go decision was a back-and-forth affair right until the deadline, when Tshiebwe elected to move on from college basketball after four seasons, including two historic campaigns with the Wildcats.

But despite becoming the most dominant rebounder in modern college basketball history, Tshiebwe is a pro prospect with clear limitations on both ends of the floor.

None of ESPN, The Athletic or The Ringer have Tshiebwe projected as a draft pick.

The same is true for Jacob Toppin, the former Wildcat whose stay-or-go decision this offseason was the most straightforward.

Toppin’s older brother, Obi, was a lottery pick in the 2020 NBA Draft out of Dayton.

Who are the top prospects in the 2023 NBA Draft?

You’ve probably heard the name Victor Wembanyama before, and with good reason.

Considered a generational talent out of France, the race to earn the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft and select Wembanyama tantalized tanking NBA teams dating back to last summer.

The San Antonio Spurs — who went 22-60 last season — won the NBA Draft lottery last month, and with it the chance to select Wembanyama.

The remaining top picks in the draft could go in any number of directions because of the teams occupying those slots.

With the No. 2 pick, do the Charlotte Hornets go with talent and select guard Scoot Henderson from the NBA’s G League Ignite program, despite already having a star guard in LaMelo Ball? Or will the Hornets (who recently had a majority ownership change with Michael Jordan selling the franchise) go with star one-and-done small forward Brandon Miller out of Alabama?

Charlotte’s decision will impact what Portland does with the No. 3 selection, assuming the Trail Blazers hold onto that pick. Star guard Damian Lillard is entering the twilight of his career, and the Blazers have a tough call to make between trying to build a contender around him, again, or blowing the whole thing up and centering their efforts around Henderson or Miller.

At the No. 4 spot, the Houston Rockets could be in prime position to select playmaking guard Amen Thompson out of the upstart Overtime Elite pro league. Both Amen and his identical twin brother, Ausar, are expected to be lottery selections in this year’s draft, marking a major developmental moment for Overtime Elite.

The biggest loser from the NBA Draft lottery was the Detroit Pistons, who were an NBA-worst 17-65 last season but fell all the way to the No. 5 pick despite having the best odds of winning the lottery.

Detroit still has plenty of talent to select from at that No. 5 spot, including one-and-done forwards Jarace Walker (Houston) and Cam Whitmore (Villanova). But for a team that had the best chance of landing Wembanyama, it will feel like a consolation prize.

Other NBA Draft storylines to watch for

There’s interest in a variety of aspects of the NBA Draft, from which players your favorite team might select, to the potential for dramatic draft night trades.

Here’s a few other storylines to watch for Thursday night:

▪ Former SEC stars set for selection: Brandon Miller and Cason Wallace are far from the only former star players in the SEC that are expected to be drafted.

Charles Bediako (Alabama), Noah Clowney (Alabama) Anthony Black (Arkansas), Ricky Council IV (Arkansas), Nick Smith Jr. (Arkansas), Jordan Walsh (Arkansas), Colin Castleton (Florida), Kobe Brown (Missouri), G.G. Jackson (South Carolina) and Julian Phillips (Tennessee) are among the other SEC standouts projected to be taken in the draft.

▪ Former UK recruit is a likely first-round draft pick: Brandin Podziemski was a onetime Kentucky recruit whose path to college basketball was disrupted by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, he’s likely an end-of-first-round NBA Draft selection out of Santa Clara. Podziemski, who began his college career at Illinois, blossomed into a mid-major star with the Broncos: He averaged 19.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists last season as a sophomore.

▪ Remember Emoni Bates? He could end up as an NBA Draft pick: Emoni Bates’ time as a college basketball recruit, and player, didn’t go according to plan.

A former Michigan State commit who first ended up at Memphis, then at his hometown school of Eastern Michigan, Bates was at one time the top-ranked recruit in the class of 2021.

Despite finding himself in legal trouble during his only season at Eastern Michigan, Bates will likely be selected near the end of the second round Thursday night.

Complete order of selection for 2023 NBA Draft

There will be 58 selections made in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Most years have 60 draft selections, but that number is reduced by two for this year’s draft after both the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat were forced to forfeit their second-round picks due to timing violations by each team related to free agency.

Here is the complete order of selection for Thursday’s draft, as of Sunday morning.

Of course, this order could change based on trades in the lead up to the draft, and on draft night itself.

FIRST ROUND:

1. San Antonio Spurs.

2. Charlotte Hornets.

3. Portland Trail Blazers.

4. Houston Rockets.

5. Detroit Pistons.

6. Orlando Magic.

7. Indiana Pacers.

8. Washington Wizards.

9. Utah Jazz.

10. Dallas Mavericks.

11. Orlando Magic (via Chicago).

12. Oklahoma City Thunder.

13. Toronto Raptors.

14. New Orleans Pelicans.

15. Atlanta Hawks.

16. Utah Jazz (via Minnesota).

17. Los Angeles Lakers.

18. Miami Heat.

19. Golden State Warriors.

20. Houston Rockets (via Los Angeles Clippers).

21. Brooklyn Nets (via Phoenix).

22. Brooklyn Nets.

23. Portland Trail Blazers (via New York).

24. Sacramento Kings.

25. Memphis Grizzlies.

26. Indiana Pacers (via Cleveland).

27. Charlotte Hornets (via Denver).

28. Utah Jazz (via Philadelphia).

29. Indiana Pacers (via Boston).

30. Los Angeles Clippers (via Milwaukee).

SECOND ROUND:

31. Detroit Pistons.

32. Indiana Pacers (via Houston).

33. San Antonio Spurs.

34. Charlotte Hornets.

35. Boston Celtics (via Portland).

36. Orlando Magic.

37. Denver Nuggets (via Washington).

38. Sacramento Kings (via Indiana).

39. Charlotte Hornets (via Utah).

40. Denver Nuggets (via Dallas).

41. Charlotte Hornets (via Oklahoma City).

42. Washington Wizards (via Chicago).

43. Portland Trail Blazers (via Atlanta).

44. San Antonio Spurs (via Toronto).

45. Memphis Grizzlies (via Minnesota).

46. Atlanta Hawks (via New Orleans).

47. Los Angeles Lakers.

48. Los Angeles Clippers.

49. Cleveland Cavaliers (via Golden State).

50. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Miami).

51. Brooklyn Nets.

52. Phoenix Suns.

53. Minnesota Timberwolves (via New York).

54. Sacramento Kings.

55. Indiana Pacers (via Cleveland).

56. Memphis Grizzlies.

57. Washington Wizards (via Boston).

58. Milwaukee Bucks.

How to watch the 2023 NBA Draft

The 2023 NBA Draft will begin at 8 p.m. Thursday.

The first round of the draft will be shown on both ABC and ESPN, and the second round shown only on ESPN.

The complete draft can be streamed on Watch ESPN with either an ESPN Plus account or a cable subscription.

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